A Guide to Street Tires Philadelphia PA

A street tire is a compromise of handling characteristics against wear, noise, weather conditions, temperature variations, and puncture resistance. Off-road truck and SUV tires aside, street tires for passenger cars can further be broken down into several different types. Here, I’ll give you a rundown of street tire types.

Local Companies

Antenucci Bros. Auto Sales
(610) 534-4600
45 S. MacDade Blvd.
Glenolden, PA

Audi Infiniti of Willow Grove
(215) 938-0600
1520 Easton Rd
Willow Grove, PA

Auto Access
(908) 240-5919
21 Camino ct
Sicklerville, NJ

Metro Volkswagen
(215) 365-7500
6915 Essington Ave
Philadelphia, PA

Northeast Auto Outlet
(215) 824-0800
Philadelphia, PA

Piazza Honda of Philadelphia
(215) 492-1115
6935 Essington Ave
Philadelphia, PA

Value Kia
(215) 937-1000
6501 Essington Ave
Philadelphia, PA

National Car Sales
(215) 492-3892
Phila International
Philadelphia, PA

Don's Auto and Trucks Sales
(215) 743-3220
4250 Aramingo Ave
Philadelphia, PA

Z & A Auto Sales
(215) 276-9555
6025 N Broad St
Philadelphia, PA

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For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.

Let’s start with a comparison of six basic types of street tire:

Winter/Snow: Street driving in wet, snowy, or icy conditions

Touring: Minimum noise, a cushy ride, and long wear, but no performance

All Season Performance: Spirited driving all year round

Summer High Performance: Optimized for performance on dry roads

Ultra-High Performance: Similar to Summer Performance with more grip and lower tread wear

Dual Purpose: A track or auto-cross tire that can be driven to and from the event

Summer and ultra-high performance

Summer performance tires and ultra-high performance tires are essentially the same, but they are offered in different sizes. Ultra-high performance tires are generally offered in larger sizes.

Disregarding the collision between the permanence of book publishing, and the fast-moving evolution of the performance tire, as of the press date, the following summer performance tires offer good value for their performance level:

Toyo T1-S

Falken Azenis

Yokohama Advan A048

Maybe you shouldn’t spend the big bucks on an ultra-high performance tire:

A dual-purpose or competition tire outperforms an ultra-high performance tire on the track.

At a track or an autocross, it hurts to demolish a $1,000 set of prestige street tires in a few hours trying to keep up with someone on a better track tire.

A summer performance tire nearly matches an ultra-high performance tire on the street for less money.

On the street, you’re a menace to yourself and others if you drive hard enough to justify upgrading from a well-engineered summer performance tire to an ultra-high performance tire. If you care whether you can drive 83 mph or 89 mph through a highway curve posted at 35 mph, something is very wrong with your street driving habits. And a dual-purpose DOT (Department of Transportation) legal race/street tire probably can make it at 95 mph!

Other types of tires are available, and may fit your needs better than summer performance tires:

Winter snow/ice tires: A deep, open tread pattern resists snow clogging. A soft tread compound provides more grip on icy surfaces.

If you drive your performance car in snowy months, mount snow tires on the stock wheels for winter and use upgraded aftermarket wheels for performance tires in other months. Winter tires are available in most original-equipment sizes.

All-season tires: These aren’t for performance driving. They’re compromised for very long tread life and all extremes of weather.

Manufacturers offer mud and snow rated all-season “performance” tires. These outperform the average Touring tire, but are by no means comparable to summer performance or ultra-high performance tires.

Touring tires: These aren’t for performance driving. They’re compromised for a very quiet and gentle ride.

Reasons to consider ultra-high performance tires

They may be the only tires with the larger diameter and low aspect ratio you want for your car.

They deliver the most grip and best handling response of any street tire. Your best tire and wheel decisions may depend on your wallet and your storage space:

The ideal solution is two sets of wheels and tires you can swap at a moment’s notice:

1) On the street, your everyday wear can be whatever tickles your fancy, whether you want stock wheels with reasonably priced performance rubber or oversized bling-bling spinner rims with wide whitewall tires.

2) For the track or autocross, you want a dedicated competition performance tire on lightweight wheels.

If you’re limited to one set of wheels and tires, and you want a performance feel for street driving, track days, or autocrosses, your best bet is almost always a dual purpose tire, not a high-dollar prestige street tire.

When you attend your first performance driving school, stick with street tires for the first few track visits. Street tires tend to be more gradual and forgiving at the limit, which makes learning your car’s limits easier (while putting less stress on your suspension components and chassis). Begin the switch to race tires when

You’re comfortable driving your car at 80 percent or 90 percent of its potential.

You’re turning consistent lap times at the track on your street tires.

You have adjusted your car’s suspension to suit your driving style. After switching to competition tires, you may need to readjust your suspension if your car’s behavior changes.

provided by:

For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.

Featured Local Company

Antenucci Bros. Auto Sales

6105344600
45 S. MacDade Blvd.
Glenolden, PA
www.antenuccibros.com

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